The present invention pertains to food production and, more particularly, to a machine for cutting and rounding food products.
When producing food products in a commercial setting, it is advantageous to do so as quickly as possible since this typically reduces the per unit cost of production. It is also generally advantageous to use relatively less complex machinery because such machinery tends to be less expensive to purchase and maintain, thereby further reducing the cost of production (other factors being equal). One popular category of food products is bite-sized food products. Although some food products are traditionally served in this format (e.g., sushi), there also exist bite-sized versions of foods traditionally made in larger formats (e.g., cake balls, Caprese skewers). For certain types of bite-sized food products, commercial production typically involves extruding a quantity of edible material, cutting the edible material into pieces and then forming each piece into a desired shape. In connection with the invention, there is seen to exist a need in the art for a relatively simply constructed machine that can be employed to rapidly, effectively and efficiently cut and round edible material.